Midnight, The Chair Mover And Me

Michael Todd
Wilburton, Oklahoma
10-23-2026



'Midnight, The Chair Mover and Me'





My name is Michael and I have engaged in the fascinating subject
of the paranormal for 19 years. During this time frame, I have experienced many
'odd'' things for sure. I've witnessed a computer printer come on by itself, I came
in contact, (visually and audibly) with spirits habituating in a defunct but 'active'
TB Sanatorium and was even physically attacked. I've took it all in stride and out
side of only a few incidents, I remained steadfast in my searches. The unknown
and especially the 'unseen' were my goals and wither success or failure, I have
have always done my best in the seeking. I might mention, I did make the papers
in Oklahoma, ( investigating a school, a library and a museum) made the pages
of a glossy Oklahoma entertainment magazine and have been on TV 3 times. I've
appreciated what media attention I could muster. I've strived to get the message out
about the spirit world which surrounds us all.
My endeavors into the paranormal began in the fall of 2008 when I put
together my first team. Off we went to explore and learn about the unknown. I
officially became: “Founder and Lead Investigator of Spook Earth”.
However, in 1983, I was known as Security Officer, Michael T.
In Jan of 1981, I was working the night shift at a defunct and closed location
called Desoto Furniture. I was witness to an event which started my 'road' to
becoming interested in the paranormal. The event, (late in the night with a cold and
snowy event taking place outside), was witnessing a shadow person running in front
of me. The 'cloaked' and shadowy entity ran from right to left on the opposite
side of the door I was entering. It was startling to say the least and left a conjured
impression on my mind. I never 'acknowledged',I had seen a ghost, spirit, devil or
any other being. I rarely mentioned it and just eventually forgot about it.
On June 18th of 1983, however, I finally acknowledged the ghost world
around us not only existed; it was flourishing. The spirit world on June 18th, 1983
enjoyed scaring the living 'crap' out of me. And by the time the sun came up the next
morning, I was a firm believer.
I had been transferred to the Desoto West plant in late '82. The Desoto
North plant had burned down not long before and I was needing something steady.
The West Plant sat on State Line road, (an old road which went to South Fort
Smith and on into Pocola, Oklahoma) and stretched for about 3 miles. The Bldg
itself was a bit more modern, (built in '75) and stretched for about 4 blocks. It
consisted of the plant, outbuildings and a large water tower. The West plant and it's
other locations: South and East were all defunct and a night shift was very easy and
quiet. The plants all retained a small maintenance crew and our purpose was to
provide fire watch. The watch consisted of hourly security rounds, checking doors,
and watching for intruders. During the first couple of months , my only intruders
were a skunk, a raccoon and a calico cat. The nights were quiet and if you saw a
vehicle on the road in front of the plant it was, 'noteworthy'.
Discord creeps in easily sometimes and it didn't take long to 'draw' the
attention of two of the older guards. They were certainly, perfectly and totally
in line with the (smoke out of a orifice) bunch, I dealt with from the other plant. One
guard asked me if I had heard any 'noises' coming from the upstairs offices. My
answer was no. Another guard claimed he heard some kind of 'growling' sound
in a darkened corner. I smiled and told them thanks for letting me know. One older
gentleman told me, he could 'see' ghosts and wanted to warn me. The funny thing;
he seemed sincere and almost believable. After the North Plant incident, I wanted to
be on my toes for anything. Being the young guy, I almost expected a fair amount
of nonsense but, how does one know for certain?
Then came June 18th of 1983 and I was glad to be working the night shift. It
was 11:55 p.m. when I arrived at work. I relieved the evening shift guy and he told
me,he saw an animal of some-sort by the front area. Also, one of the maintenance
men had left a message for me. They asked that I 'prop' open the production office's
main entrance. The maintenance crew was due in Sunday morning to remove a bank
of old computers, copper wiring and old electric conduits. As there was very little
air blowing in the building, it was quite warm and uncomfortable. Propping the door
open would help circulate a bit of air.
I started sorted myself out: putting my newspaper, my coffee thermos and
my portable radio on the desk I watched the evening shift fellow drive out the
entrance gate. Pushing the 'close' button, I watched the gate slide itself shut with
an audible 'clang'. My 8 hour shift was before me and I settled in for the night.
My first security round was at 1:00 am. and I anticipated finding no problems.
I had my expectation backwards.
'Problems'...found me.
At exactly 1am, I grabbed the security clock, left the guard-shack and started
walking to the north exit door of the plant. I made a brief stop in the building which
was called The Paint/ Chemical dept. It had one key to hit and I held my nose as I
entered the building. As there was a 'buildup' of paint, remover and other foul
concoctions, it was a wonder the EPA people had not condemned it. I just shook
my head and continued up the concrete path to the north exit door. I had almost
reached the door when I saw 'something' moving around a row of steel barrel
trash cans. I heard a 'hissed' sound and witnessed an animal, (or something) racing
into the cover of a nearby overgrown, grassy area.
It startled me and while shining my flashlight over the area, I saw, (briefly) a
set of eyes looking back at me. I'm not sure what kind of critter it was, but it
growled and bolted further into the underbrush by the fence-line. I'm not sure but
I believe my late night guest was a 'cheesed' off feral dog. Being on the border of
Oklahoma, we get lots of critters hanging around so it was not beyond the realm
of possibility it could have been a bobcat, fox or a feral coyote. Animals get hungry
enough, they'll roam until they find a morsel.
I'm not sure if it was the animal which unnerved me but I suddenly felt a cold
chill as I stepped into the immense building. The furniture factory machinery had
been removed a year before with only a few trash cans and a conveyor line, sitting
against a far wall, left. And a broken down forklift sat quietly at the southern
end, dusty and waiting patiently for a repairman. I punch my first key and looked
toward the production office in the middle of the building. This building; being
built in '75, was a single level structure and had a series of offices, built well
above the production floor. The production, maintenance and sales department,
were accessible by staircase. The maintenance and production office were the
only areas in the building with 'stuff' still in them. The building was vast with
echoes many as I walked to the far wall. I checked the northeast exit door and
punched my key. As per - norm, my footsteps were 'loud' and pronounced as they
they echoed through the empty building. For some reason the sound of my steps
were beginning to unnerve me greatly. I shined my flashlight toward the staircase
I had to go up. My light caused 'shadows' to dance all around the windows of the
office. The building had two security lights which lit up only the south and north
end of the space. Everything in between was blacker than a coal mine at midnight.
I gingerly climbed the steps, walked to the production door and stepped in.
The large office was big with old desks, reams of old production journals and
memos to various plant management. Old, outdated Dot Matrix printers and
ancient IBM computers sat on every dusty desk. I always found it strange that
the room always looked like the final scene in an old horror movie. I finished my
look see and spotted a folding chair. I grabbed it and 'froze'. The building had
made a 'loud' banging sound and a creak like a giant chain being dragged across
the floor. I could hear the wind blowing outside and it never ceased to make me
'jump' when it sounded like a giant kicking a wall down. I opened the exit door,
opened the chair and propped the door open wide. I walked down the stairs, turned
and completed my tour of the plant. I returned to the guard-shack, ate a sandwich,
listened to Men at Work's, “Down Under' playing on a local rock station and rested.

The wind was picking up out of the north when I started again at 2 am. The
radio mentioned there was a chance of a pop up shower. I welcomed the wind as the
air was sultry with the temp hanging tight at 80 degrees.
Pat Benatar was belting out,'Heartbreaker' on my Panasonic as I left the
shack. The wind was indeed 'up' but my feeling of apprehension was calmed down.
I kept a close watch on the fence line but did not see my animal guest. I entered
the building, locked the door and proceeded on my tour. The wind was rattling
the metal roof and making all kinds of racket. I punched my second key and was
about to turn when I was hit by explainable shivers. I looked toward the production
office and stopped in my tracks.
I had the unmistakable sensation I was being watched.
I always carried an EverReady 12 volt flashlight with extra strength batteries.
I shone it through the sea of darkness leading toward the production office. Nothing
moved and listening carefully, I heard nothing but the wind jarring the metal roof.
Oddly as I stepped forward, the wind suddenly died off. Unnatural quiet stunned
me and I paused. I looked all around, saw nothing unusual. But, dammit, I could
not shake the feeling something, (or someone) was observing me. I shined the light
toward the windows of the production office. All I could see was the dusty ceiling
and a blank wall. I noted that nothing moved. I swallowed the sensation of ill
tidings and climbed the stairs, made my way along the walkway to the door.
I stopped, froze; as ice flowed down my spine.
The chair I had propped the door open with was now in the hallway. Flat
and lying on the carpeted walkway. The door was shut and I was shocked to find
that it was locked.
“What is this crap...?” I exclaimed out loud. “ There is no way.”
I heard my voice echoing around the emptiness and the sound was eerie. I
caught my wits and convinced myself, the door had merely pushed the chair into the
hallway and shut and locked behind it. That was it and nothing else. But... still, the
sensation was not gone. Unlocking the door, I checked all over the office area and
found nothing. I re-positioned the chair where it could not move, put a rubber door
stopper under the door and continued on my way. I checked every exit, the sales
office, (nothing), the maintenance office (nothing) and even went back and took
another look at the door. The chair was wedged tight with the door against it. The
door wedge made it impossible to be moved. I made sure the door was unlocked.
I made my way out of the building and went back to the shack. The wind had
slowed and the night bugs, moths and other pests were dancing by the shack's pole
light. I calmed, drank some coffee and listened to the radio.
3 am came and I stepped out the door, hoisted my clock and proceeded
to the building. Apparently my animal guest/intruder was back as I heard a 'growl'
as I neared the north exit door. I shined the light around and saw something: black;
about the size of a med dog. Again, it moved into the underbrush and disappeared.
I had another round of arm, 'shivers' hit me. I yelled out at the dark unseen
phantasm of a varmint which was beguiling me. I shut the door, punched my key
and walked toward the far wall.
The sensation was back. It hit me and hit me painfully. I shined my light toward
the production office. This time I thought I saw a 'shadow' moving in one of the
rooms. I made myself move on and then finding myself at the foot of the stairs, I
yelled if someone was in the office, I would be calling the police. They needed to
come down and show their-selves immediately. All I got in return for my challenge
was silence. Total and complete 'tomb' silence. No footsteps, movement, sounds
of someone running or doors slamming. NOTHING. I eased myself up the stairs and
started toward the open door.
I approached the door, stopped in my tracks as my mind began to reel with
confusion and fright.
The chair I had wedged tightly against the door frame was now across the room;
leaning against a window ledge. The door wedge was lying on top of a desk and
the door was locked again.
I yelled two loud expletives and stepped out of the room. Looking down,
I examined the floor for footprints in the dust. The only prints were mine. I went
down the stairs and made my way to a far power box near the maintenance area. I
pushed the main switch which cut on all the lights in the building. The lights came
on with a loud metallic, 'bang'.
The entire building now completely lit up, became automatically less of an
intimidating beast. It now resembled a gigantic airplane hanger as it stretched for
almost 3 city blocks. The echoes didn't end though, as the metal roof continued it's
rat-a-tat machine gun racket. I watched both ends and detected no movement, no
sounds of a person escaping or any other 'odd' sound. I checked the entirety of the
south end, the sales office was empty and silent; the maintenance room a bit cluttered
but was without intruders. I double checked the exit doors and found them securely
locked from the inside. There was nothing of anything to write home about. I started
my way to the north end and went through the same procedure. I realized completely.
I should have called the police and my direct supervisor but.. what the hell was I
suppose to tell them? There is a ghost or for technical description; a 'noisy' spirit
commonly known as a poltergeist loose in the building? The powers that be would
question my sanity. SO...I did my checks and balances to 'MY' satisfaction.
I found nothing except a folding chair and a door stop where they were; not where
I had put them. No change of physics could have made a 8 to 11 pound chair sail
across a room; nor a stunt causing a rubber door- stop to land perfectly on a
desk top.


By now it was pushing 4 am and I decided to perform my security tour early. I
left the lights on and knocked out the tour within 25 minutes. I made my way back to
the production office, replaced the chair lying sideways, propping the door open very
securely. I replaced the door-stop 'damn' secure; kicking it with my boot to make sure
it could not move. One last check of putting my weight against the door and I was
satisfied it wasn't going to move. I made my way back to the power box and switched
off the lights. A loud, 'bang' and the building was plunged back into darkness. I
began walking toward the far exit when I stopped, froze, then spun around.
Not only was I being watched from multiple directions....
Something called my name.
I was 'shocked' to say the least. I shined my light in every direction but there was
no mistaking the direction of the voice. It came from the production office. I thought
I heard the faint, (very light was a better description) sound of metal moving,scraping
and dragging across metal.
I found myself moving from fright into anger. I marched back to the bottom of
the stairs of the production office, shined my light toward the open door; and saw it
was still 'propped' open.
“I don't know who you are or what your up to, but..” I yelled out defiantly. “I
want you to 'STOP' right now. If you don't want the door open, fine, I wont open it
no more. Just let me be. OK? Can we call it a parlay?”
I didn't know what I was doing, who I was talking to or if I accomplished
anything. But one thing was certain: everything suddenly went quiet. The wind
died down; nothing else was heard. I stood still watching the doorway from below
but witnessed no manifestation of a dark entity, no folding chair flying over the
railing and nothing else called my name. I stood still for almost 20 min. Nothing
else happened and my thoughts were all over the map. My emotions were calming but
I was startled back to reality when I heard the frantic 'bleeping' of a car horn
outside.
When I hurriedly made my way back to the guard-shack, I discovered one of
the maintenance employees waiting at the gate. I waved at him and hit the gate
open button. He rolled up to the guard post, I signed him in and he asked me how
the night went. I told him a row of half truths, and outright fabrications. It was warm
but very quiet. I mentioned about the stray animal and he nodded and said that he
believes the unknown animal is a bobcat. He put his truck into gear and thanked me
for propping open the production door. I mentally wished him well as he drove to
the buildings front entrance.
To this day, I have never been able to resolve what happened that night. Wither I
had a real poltergeist or just a wondering 'lost' spirit' 'jacking with me', I am still
left with a mystery. I never told anyone about the incidents of that night.
I worked at this plant with no other problems for about six months. I was able
to move to a different site after Christmas. And the entire time at the west plant, I
never heard anyone experiencing anything related to my late night visitor.
This was a true story. Thanks for reading. And I will leave you with a piece of
advice. If you ever work as a security guard and are working the late shift, alone and
at a spooky, old abandoned building, just leave the doors and windows...alone. You
never know who you'll 'cheese' off. And one final note: Animal control captured and
released a really, 'annoyed' coyote in a wooded area near the plant. The testy, little
hellion was caught just a few days before the 4th of July.




Michael Todd
Wilburton, Oklahoma
10-28-2026
Founder and lead investigator-
Spook Earth Paranormal